Ozark, Mo. - The No. 7 seeded Central Methodist baseball program dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 3 seed William Woods in its second game of the Heart of America Conference Tournament Friday night at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.

The Eagles, outhit the Owls 10-5 but were undone by a four-run seventh inning from William Woods, which proved to be the difference in the contest.

Central struck first in the bottom of the fifth inning. Dawson Foster delivered an RBI double down the right field line to plate Joshua Smith, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Landon McKillip scored on a double-play ball off the bat of Gavin Whitehurst, extending the advantage to 2-0.

CMU starter Jeremy Yanow was dominant through six innings, keeping the Owls off the scoreboard while piling up strikeouts. The right-hander finished with a strong outing, allowing just five hits and three earned runs while striking out a season-high 13 batters in a complete-game effort.

William Woods broke through in the seventh inning, capitalizing on timely hitting and a CMU error. Evan Rainey started the rally with an RBI single, and Aidan Gaither followed with a go-ahead hit that plated two runs, one of which came on a fielding miscue. Sam Russo later added an RBI single to cap the four-run frame and give the Owls a 4-2 lead.

The Eagles responded in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the deficit to one run after Whitehurst scored on an error by the William Woods shortstop. However, CMU was unable to push across the equalizer.

Whitehurst and Joshua Smith each recorded two hits to lead the Eagles offensively, while McKillip also added a pair of hits and scored once. Foster drove in CMU's lone RBI of the contest.

With the loss, Central Methodist moves to the consolation side of the bracket and will face No. 4 seed Clarke in an elimination game on Saturday, May 2. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

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